Get AWS Cloud Practitioner & Solution Architect Associate Certified in 2024 — Resources & Tips

Sharing my tried, tested and true resources and tips, to help you get CLF-C02 and SAA-C03 certified

So you’ve decided to get AWS Solutions Architect — Associate certified(SAA-C03) in 2024. There are many ways to earn this certification. Before my prep, I was in your shoes, trying to find the right resources.

Fast forward a few months, I got AWS SAA certified today and I wanted to document my experience to help you pick the right ingredients for your success recipe. As with everything in life, utlimately you get to customize based on your unique journey.

Here’s my 4 step (slightly uncoventional) approach:

1. Start with free resources available on AWS skill builder — earn AWS free badges to re-affirm your interest, passion and commitment
2. Invest in paid courses — I have two top choices for you
3. Earn your cloud practitioner certification (If you are a woman in tech, leverage cloud up for her program)
4. Earn your SAA certificate (Leverage 50% that AWS gifts you with when you pass any prior AWS cert)

If you follow these steps, you’ll earn 4 credly badges. I’ll elaborate on these in the below sections.

snapshot from my public credly profile — https://www.credly.com/users/devi-priya-karuppiah.32c54608/badges

1 — Start with the free resources available on AWS skill builder

AWS Skill builder has amazing free resources that you absolutely need to leverage! Sign up here — https://skillbuilder.aws/

Earn the below badges:

1. AWS Knowledge: Cloud Essentials — This will build your AWS foundations and set you up for success for your Cloud Practitioner exam
2. AWS Knowledge: Architecting — This will set you up for success for your SAA exam

These badges are free and a great confidence booster! If you enjoyed your journey so far and are serious about getting AWS CLF-C02 and SAA-C03 certified, read on.

2 - Invest in paid courses & mock exams

I used the below 3 paid resources and they were totally worth the purchase for me:

1. Adrian Cantrill SAA course contains 70+ hours of high quality content to keep you highly engaged and actually enjoy the journey of getting AWS certified!

AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate (SAA-C03)

2. Stephane Maarek’s Udemy SAA course contains 27 hours of interesting coverage of SAA-C03 exam content. His concise lectures, section quiz, solution architecture discussions make it totally worth it to reinforce AWS concepts.

https://www.udemy.com/course/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-saa-c03/

3. Jon Bonso Tutorial Dojo Mock exams on Udemy — This Udemy course contains 6 sets of mock exams that can help assess your exam readiness

https://www.udemy.com/course/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-amazon-practice-exams-saa-c03/

3 — Earn your cloud practitioner certification

Remember I said how my approach is slightly unconventional? Well, if you followed my above steps, you now realize why.

I took my CLF-C02 after preparing for my SAA-C03. This approach made CLF-C02 easier.

Tips for your CLF-C02 exam:

• If you are a woman in tech, please leverage https://pages.awscloud.com/cloudup-for-her-cloud-practitioner.html
• Utilize exam prep standard course for CLF-C02 — this is a free course available on AWS skill builder site. This will include a walkthrough of the exam syllabus
• Do some mock tests and take your exam. This should be easy as you’ve already prepared at the SAA level!
• When you pass the certification, AWS will award you 50% off voucher that you can utilize for your next SAA exam!

4— Earn your Solution Architect Assocaite certification

This is a great time to revise your notes from your SAA preparation. Stephan Maarek’s notes included as part of his Udemy coursework is very handy.

Tips for your SAA-C03 exam:

• Utilize exam prep standard course for SAA-C03 — this is a free course available on AWS skill builder site. This will include a walkthrough of the exam syllabus. More importantly, it will help you identify your weak and strong areas. Revisit your weak sections.
• Retake your mock exams to score higher. Learn from your mistakes. Tutorial dojo practice tests (available on Udemy) are challenging.
• Revise, Revise and revise a little more.
• Utilize your 50% off coupon from your CLF-C02, book your SAA-03 at half price and get certified!

Voila — there you go — my 4 step tried, tested and true method of getting CLF-C02 and SAA-03 certified in 2024!

Follow me on my cloud journey. More blogs to follow in this corner of the digital space.

⭐⭐⭐ It is a good day to learn something new ⭐⭐⭐